02/08/05 E85 vehicle in Idaho to promote ethanol

The legislature is about to begin debate a bill requiring that all gasoline sold in Idaho contains a ten- percent ethanol blend. General Motors is announcing today that it is giving Idaho and 27 other states an E85 vehicle, in this case a Chevy Avalanche. GM's Ken Stewart says it's a collaborative effort with the Governors' Ethanol Coalition to promote the use of that alternative fuel. STEWART "E85 vehicles have been produced for over 20 years. GM is the leading source of vehicles. We've got over a million and a half on the road now. It's 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. And those two things are blended together to make E85 and it requires only slight modifications to the engine and the fuel system. And we've been doing now in the large truck and pickup trucks for GM for several years." Stewart says critics are wrong when they say that cars and trucks can't operate on a ten- percent ethanol gasoline blend. STEWART "Burning E10 is a no-brainer. It allows the vehicle to perform the same and yet we think ethanol in general is a great way to offset America's dependence on foreign oil and to help improve our situation with greenhouse gases and fuel savings throughout the years." Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott